A LONG WALK
A new music project by JAVIER FARIAS based on the immigrant experience
A LONG WALK
A LONG WALK is a collection of real-life immigration stories shared by individuals who have entrusted me and classical guitarist Scott Hill with their personal experiences—stories filled with hope, fear, and resilience as they sought new lives in the United States. Inspired by their narratives, I transformed their emotions and journeys into music. Each piece in A Long Walk not only reflects the challenges these individuals faced, but also aims to evoke empathy and connection with the audience, inviting listeners to reflect on the richness and complexity of the immigrant experience.
CULTURAL AMBASSADOR
Javier Farías and his project, A LONG WALK, will now serve as the Cultural Ambassador for the Chilean American Foundation. Their shared objective is to raise awareness of their work in both the artistic and philanthropic realms. Javier looks forward to raising funds for young people in his home country while promoting Chilean artists and music wherever his artistic journey may take him.
Learn more about the American Foundation here:
Where we belong (2022)
Commissioned by Carnegie Hall’s Reflections of Resilience project, WHERE WE BELONG is scored for double string quartet, charango and guitar. The work features the acclaimed PubliQuartet along with a group of young Latin American immigrants, all of them students from InTempo, an organization based in Stamford, CT, that provides high-quality classical and intercultural music education to children predominantly from immigrant backgrounds and from communities underrepresented in the arts.
The premiere will take place at Carnegie Hall on June 26th, 2022.
WORKS
UNCHARTED WATERS
How desperate must a mother be to tell her children that if they don’t leave their home country now, they may not survive? And what if their only means of escape is an artisanal raft — barely fit to cross a river, let alone survive a treacherous ocean journey?
This was the reality for 65-year-old Van, who was forced to flee Vietnam when the VietCong launched a guerrilla war, leaving his family penniless. His extraordinary journey is the inspiration behind UNCHARTED WATERS, a new work by composer Javier Farías for mixed choir, viola, and guitar.
instrumentation: mixed choir, guitar and viola (Alturas Duo)
commissioned by Juniata College Concert Choir
premiere: November 2, 2025 (venue TBA)
FORSAKEN PEAKS: AN ANDEAN EXILE
On January 13, 1960, a devastating earthquake struck Arequipa, Peru, forever changing the lives of its residents. Amid the chaos, Renza, a 15-year-old girl from Peru, met Dan, a dedicated member of the Peace Corps who was in the region to assist with recovery efforts. Their unexpected connection inspired Renza to leave her homeland and embark on a new life in the United States. Now, over sixty years later, she reflects on her immigrant experience, sharing the challenges and triumphs of rebuilding her life in a foreign land.
instrumentation: mixed choir, guitar
duration: 11 minutes
commissioned by Wake Forest University Chamber Choir, Chris Gilliam, and Marco Sartor
premiere: March 2025. Brendle Recital Hall. Wake Forest Chamber Choir conducted by Chris Gilliam, Marco Sartor (guitar)
LETTERS FROM MAINOR
Mainor was only 16 years old when he set out on a courageous journey to the United States by himself, leaving behind his entire family in Honduras. His story — filled with uncertainty, resilience, and hope — is captured through a series of new compositions by Javier Farías, inspired by the letters Mainor wrote to his loved ones along the way.
The first piece in this series, UN DÍA DECIDÍ («One Day I Decided»), gives musical life to Mainor’s brave decision to leave everything he knew in search of a better future.
instrumentation: TTBB, piano
duration: 5 minutes
commissioned by Miami Men’s Glee Club and Jeremy D. Jones
premiere: (TBA)
LA VOZ DE MONICA
LA VOZ DE MONICA features the story of Monica, who left her two-year-old son in Ecuador in 2000 to make a grueling journey to Mexico where she tried to cross the border in the U.S. This trip turned into something much more ghastly than she anticipated, so much so that it nearly cost her life. Even though she’s been living a productive life in the United States for decades, she is still considered undocumented.
instrumentation: mixed choir, classical guitar
duration: 13 minutes
commissioned by Susan Klebanow
premiere: November 2023. Moeser Auditorium in Chapel Hill, NC. Carolina Choir conducted by Susan Klebanow, Billy Stewart (classical guitar)
YOUNG VOICES FOR THE FUTURE
Partially funded by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, this project aims to raise awareness about the challenges young immigrants face as they leave their homes and adapt to life in the U.S. It includes new compositions inspired by texts taken from poems written by Latino middle and high school students—recent arrivals to Montgomery County, MD.
instrumentation: classical guitar, narration
duration: 20 minutes
commissioned by The Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County
VOICES FROM MAYA
VOICES FROM MAYA details the journey of Maya, who was 21 years old when escaping the war-torn Croatia in 1993 to start a new life in the U.S. The following rather disconcerting extract was taken from an interview and reflects her thoughts in war: “Is it a peace day or not? Where are the bombs coming from? Counting the seconds from the time the bomb launches, because you start to recognize the sound of it, is it coming from the air or from the boats? You live like that. Your vocabulary changes.”
instrumentation: mixed choir, electric and classical guitar
duration: 14 minutes
commissioned by Barnard-Columbia Chamber Choir
premiere: April 2022. Church of the Ascension, New York City. Barnard-Columbia Chamber Choir conducted by Gail Archer, Javier Farias (electric guitar) and Scott Hill (classical guitar)
WHERE WE BELONG
A piece commissioned by InTempo for PlayUSA, a program of Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute, WHERE WE BELONG is scored for double string quartet, charango and guitar. The work features the acclaimed PubliQuartet and students from the Stamford based after school music program, InTempo, an organization that provides high-quality classical and intercultural music education to children predominantly from immigrant backgrounds and communities underrepresented in the arts.
instrumentation: double string quartet, three charangos and two classical guitars
duration: 10 minutes
commissioned by InTempo and PlayUSA
premiere: June 2022. Carnegie Hall’s Weill Music Institute. PubliQuartet, INTEMPO students
Voices (2022)
VOICES is a trilogy of works scored for mixed choir, classical and electric guitar that will form a small part of the larger A LONG WALK series. Each piece in VOICES is based on a real person and the reason they decided to leave their country of origin. The first piece, VOICES FROM MAYA, chronicles the journey of a young woman escaping war-torn Croatia and starting a new life in the U.S. The piece was commissioned by conductor Gail Archer and the Barnard Columbia Chorus and featured composer Javier Farias on electric guitar and Scott Hill on classical. The premiere took place in April 2022, in NYC.
VIDEOS
Never step back (2020)
A 40 minute suite written for guitar and voice, depicts texts and poetry by Kate Evans, Mai Ver Dang, Tracey K. Smith and Luis Alberto Urrea.
ABOUT
Being in snow is an adventure.
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Chilean American composer Javier Farías has been awarded First Prize in the Andrés Segovia Composition Competition, International Composing Competition «2 Agosto,» and Michele Pittaluga Composition Competition for Classical Guitar. Farías was honored with the 2014 Fromm Music Foundation Prize at Harvard University for a concerto for two guitars composed for Sérgio and Odair Assad and the YOA Orchestra of the Americas. His catalog consists of works ranging from solo guitar to full guitar ensemble to others featuring or incorporating the guitar into compositions for chamber ensembles, choral music, and orchestral settings, including five guitar concertos.
His compositions have premiered in lauded venues such as Carnegie Hall, Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Instituto Cervantes in New York City, the Kennedy Center, Tsuda Hall in Japan, Ateneo de Madrid, Meistersaal in Berlin, and by the Organization of American States among others. His music written for guitar has also been included in guitar program repertoire for conservatories including the Conservatoire de Paris, Yale University, San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and Royal Danish Academy of Music in Copenhagen.
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS
CONTACT
If you have a general inquiry or are interested in partnering with us, please send us an email to:
longwalkproject@gmail.com